JOE Anderson explains why, as Mayor of Liverpool, he is backing the Better Together campaign.

AGAIN and again as I speak to people in Liverpool, I realise that people here have a deep connection with Scotland.

I have memories of family and favourite childhood holidays. Others have working experiences or businesses based in Liverpool and Scotland, or maybe they just look at the Border and see a mirror of our own struggles with the economy, the long journey to prosperity and the fight for our own destiny.

Alex Salmond’s plans would tear us apart. Liverpool has had more than its fair share of charismatic people claiming we can be a utopian paradise if we go it alone – and we’ve learnt the hard way how much damage can be caused.

Scotland is part of my history and that’s why, with pride, I have joined the No campaign.